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Senate approves SB132 to tighten New Century and Regent scholarship rules amid budget shortfall
Summary
Senate Bill 132 amends eligibility and disclosure requirements for New Century and Regent scholarships, capping awards and requiring applicants to be notified that awards are subject to legislative appropriation; senators said the New Century program faces an approximately $4 million shortfall next year. The bill passed 27-0 with two absent.
The Utah Senate on Day 25 passed Senate Bill 132, a package of changes to the New Century and Regent scholarship programs that tightens eligibility rules and requires explicit applicant disclosures that awards are subject to legislative appropriations.
Senator Valentine, the bill sponsor, told colleagues that the state faces budget pressure in higher education and that the New Century scholarship fund is "upside down in this scholarship fund by $4,000,000 in the next budget year" while the Regent scholarship faces about a $2,000,000 shortfall. SB132 sets a $5,000 cap on individual awards, tightens eligibility (requiring completion of an AA degree plus specified grade-point thresholds and application timing), and directs the Board of Regents to disclose on applications and related materials that awards may be reduced depending on legislative funding.
Senators asked about the geographic distribution of recipients and timing for implementation. Senator Jones said the scholarships "are all over the whole state" and noted differences in applicants between New Century and Regent programs. Senator Valentine and others emphasized that the bill is meant to preserve the programs by containing costs rather than eliminate them.
Senator Jenkins urged caution about raising eligibility thresholds too high, warning of potential unintended consequences for student participation. Senator Morgan and others pressed for clarity about how the statutory disclosure and timing would affect students who have already completed qualifying work.
The Senate read a portion of the bill into the record to highlight the required disclosure language, and the Senate recorded a roll-call vote of 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent on final action to place the bill at the bottom of the third-reading calendar; senators subsequently moved it forward in the third-reading process later in the day.
The bill’s changes take effect through the statutory language adopted by the legislature; supporters said the changes are meant to keep the scholarship programs solvent in a tight budget year while providing clearer notice to students and parents that scholarship awards are not guaranteed.
